Oppressed solitude
by Maelstrom-claymore
Summary: A young man just attempting to get by in life without excessive interaction. One day, everything that young man loved was stripped from him, leaving nothing but a false mask. On the day of judgement, the day havoc unleashed itself, that was the day Namikaze Naruto finally snapped. OC/OOC Naruto. Dark, humorous, and slightly crazed Naruto. 'Possible' "small" harem.
1. Chapter 1

_**This has been eating at me for a little while now, and with the recent completion of **__**Outbreak **__**by **__**ElementalShadow**__**, I feel the need to at least try it. Yup, a Naruto X HOTD crossover. There really isn't too much to say, except Naruto is from the HOTD universe. That's not to say he'll be weak under any means, but not God like by a long shot. The story starts a year prior to the beginning of the series… So…let's see where this goes, alright?**_

Marikawa Shizuka is someone who could be described as a dunce of a woman, but yet has moments that could very well challenge the definition of insightful. The slow processing nurse was currently staring at a stapled packet of paper with a noticeable amount of curiosity. The packet was a newly filled out medical form she received from the district's student placement board, which she had to file into the school's system. The subject of the medical form was sitting idly in a regular chair in front of her, gazing out the window, while the Nurse checked the information over.

Name: **Namikaze U. Naruto**

DOB: **10/10/92**

Age: **17**

Sex: **Male**

Height: **6'1"**

Weight: **170lbs**

Ethnicity: **Caucasian**

Preexisting conditions:** None to date.**

Address: **13518 Teito St. Tokonosu City**

Emergency contacts: **Kushina Namikaze, Minato Namikaze, Hatake Kakashi.**

…

…

…

Shizuka set the papers down and nodded affirmatively, everything seemed in order. Glancing up at the teen in front of her, she cleared her throat to attract his attention "Alright, Namikaze-kun. Your medical file is acceptable, so there is no medication you need stored for an emergency?"

The teen, Namikaze Naruto, calmly turned his gaze towards the blonde haired woman, and shook his head no. As Shizuka examined the boy, she noticed he had spiky sun kissed locks, which every now and then fell in the way of his deep cerulean eyes that stood out on his tanned skin. It wasn't too much of surprise after all; he did come from America, however it proved he might have German descent somewhere down the line.

The Namikaze gave the nurse a pleasant smile, and answering in a surprisingly deep and smooth voice "Nope, I'm clean as a whistle as far as that regards. Is there anything else you need me for, Marikawa-sensei?"

The school nurse returned the smile, and replied in her bubbly manner "Hm…no, I believe that's it. You can go now, Namikaze-kun."

Naruto slowly rose from his seat, and gave the woman a low bow before leaving. Shizuka watched as the blonde made his way towards the administrator's office to get his class schedule, and couldn't help but let her smile widen an inch or two. That was such a polite young man, and not to mention handsome…not that she would say that aloud, that is.

* * *

Naruto breezed through the rest of his introduction from one of the school's secretary, but thanked her nonetheless for showing him where his first class was, seeing as he honestly had no real sense of direction for the school. Lightly tapping on the sliding door, he waited for an answer, however, he couldn't help letting his mind wander. 'Everything so far has been going along nicely, I'll probably end up jinxing myself, but I can honestly say, I like it here.'

A gruff baritone from behind the door broke him from his inner musings "Please come in!"

Not even fighting the urge to shrug, the blonde did so and opened the sliding door. Digging a hand in his pocket, the American took a few steps into the room, and faced the class. A man roughly in his forties, obviously the teacher, spoke in a loud tone to silence all talking "Alright class, this is the new transfer student, please introduce yourself."

The blonde stuffed another hand into his pocket, and began in an almost lazily manner "I'm Namikaze Naruto. I come from the United States…I hope you treat me well?" He finished with a indifferent frown.

The man nodded, and pointed towards an empty seat by the window, instructing "Take your seat over there, Namikaze-san."

Naruto slowly strode over to the seat, giving a few glances around the class, and silently sat down. The teacher wrote something down on a clipboard, before he turned his attention on Naruto, and asked "Namikaze-san, this class is Geometry, how far were you into the curriculum in your previous school?"

The Namikaze stated rather bluntly "I took Geometry during my freshman year…I already was in Algebra 2."

The man stared at him a little bit longer than he needed, while all of the students gave him shocked glances. After a painless two minute stare down, the man relented and stated "Alright, then I expect outstanding scores from you Namikaze-san."

The Namikaze only conceded in a bored drawl "That's perfectly reasonable." Nodding, the appointed teacher continued with his lesson.

* * *

…

Much to his surprise, throughout the day, transitions to each class acted in groups. Meaning, the first class he had was the class he would be spending the whole year with all day, every day, with a few acceptations. The next class was traditional Japanese, which obviously he didn't have too much of a problem with it, considering he could speak it fluently. Next was Biology, and since he already took it, there was no problem there. His next class-and now his favorite-was English.

How someone of American decent, nonetheless, could mutilate the English language by using slang and a fake accent in a matter of ten seconds shocked everyone present in the room. "I talk that dun der' English pretty dern' good, if I say so for meh' self. Get 'er done, America, f-k yah!" After his obvious amusement at their expense, they figured he was just messing with them, and asked for a proper example. This just led to Naruto fooling around with them some more, stating rather stoically, that's was just how he 'talk's' English.

After English was his second to last class, which was a free period they spent in the library. During this hour, he was approached by many of his classmates, although he found himself under the sights of multiple girls, some of which weren't even from his class. Well, after that session of near molestation, it was the last class of the day: Physical Education. Now, this class could very well have been his favorite, considering his athletic capabilities were just naturally higher than the average Japanese male. Mainly because, he was roughly seven inches taller than what they considered tall, and had a good fifty pounds of muscle on everyone. It was safe to say, Naruto would be picked immediately for anything remotely physical. The only reason it wasn't his favorite class, was the fact that he couldn't really mess with everyone like in English, in the humorous sense.

With the day over, the blonde would mutely make his way home, lazy nature bleeding through his apathetic mask.

This would turn out to be his daily schedule for the next year. Wake up, eat breakfast, go to school, do his work, talk with some friends, walk home, work out, eat dinner, and finally… sleep. Everyone around the boy soon found out, there wasn't all too much to him under any means. Actually, it was startling how little the blonde socialized, or even partake in any self-indulgent activities. Most people marked it off as his lazy personality, although, a select few knew there was more to Namikaze Naruto than what he revealed.

Past his lazy-'I don't give two shits'-attitude, was an oppressed longing for solitude. Yes, one could say Namikaze Naruto didn't like needless interaction, in fact, he loathed it. That's what his lazy façade was for, it was a mere attempt to provoke less social stimulus. That's not to say he hated interacting with everyone, no, there was a certain couple he would indulge conversation with, namely Busujima Saeko and Marikawa Shizuka. Saeko for her calm personality and collective attitude, while, Shizuka's bubbly nature seemed to ease his mind at times.

Upon the first weeks of his second year in the Fujimi High School, everything changed for Naruto drastically. The boy turned to the stark opposite of his previous nonchalant attitude. An oddly neutral small smile could always be found plastered on his face, he began to interact with everyone in his class, even to the point of becoming the center of attention, and joined several clubs nobody would think he had any form of interest in. This was to everybody; he didn't even act the same towards Shizuka or Saeko as he did before, they would just receive the same small everlasting smile, as everyone else. About a week after the start of the strange behavior, the true cause for it became known to everyone. Naruto's family, his parents and adopted brother Kakashi, died in a car crash just the week before.

Even when anyone approached the blonde about it, in attempt to comfort him, they would only receive that same small smile. The smile, which seemed to mock their sympathetic words. It was a mask, everyone knew it, but it wasn't just any mask. Nobody could even come close to cracking it, not once would it ever falter, much less come undone. Soon, the students and faculty of Fujimi High School let it go and just went about everyday life, allowing the Namikaze to interact with them however he wished.

* * *

On that day, the day everything went to hell, something changed in everyone, one way or another.

* * *

A male's voice filled the speakers of the intercom _**"All students must evacuate in accordance of their teachers instructions! I repeat, a violent incident is taking place in the school now! All students must evacuate accor-" **_

The intercom soon fell silent; just until a few muffled shuffling noises could be heard hissing through the overly sensitive speakers. The man's voice returned from what sounded like a good distance away between him and the transmitter _**"Help me! Stop it! Please, help me! It hurts, it hurts! Help me, I'm gonna die! Ahhh…"**_

The man stopped screaming completely, the only sounds coming through the receiver was the mangling grunts of chewing. Everything fell silent, for what seemed like an eternity, nobody dared to make the slightest of murmurs. Within an instant, all hell broke loose. Every person within the compounds of Fujimi High School started screaming and rushing out their classroom doors, too caught up in their distress to realize one person hadn't moved an inch from their seat. That person was Namikaze Naruto.

He sat eerily still, eyes glazed over in thought, his everlasting smile twitching slightly, before falling slack on his lips. Moments passed, pained screams echoed throughout the corridors of the building, eventually reaching the eardrums of one Namikaze Naruto. Lidded blue eyes soon widened to their extremes, the small black pupil found in the center of the exposed organ was shaking inconsistently, fluctuating in size. A full blown Cheshire grin melted into place on the blonde's lips, chattering with uncontrolled excitement and glee. Swaying to his feet, knocking his desk over in the process, Naruto lurched towards the door, a small chuckle crawling up his throat.

Yes, the day everything went to hell, something changed in everyone, for better or for worse, something had indeed changed.

* * *

…

_**Well, there you have it folks. Just a small prologue, I never seem capable of making large ones. Short and swe…maybe not all that sweet, but you get the point. Tell me what you think, and I'll see what I can do with this.**_

_**Maelstrom-claymore out**_


	2. The beginning of a legend

_**Alright…so, I want to start out with a little review I got from **__**hanipman**__**:**_

…_**Dafuq? It is a Crossover, and it's not something debatable. This is an AU fic, and Naruto is really OOC, nothing more, nothing less. I honestly don't get what you mean by 'Philological Roughing', unless you're talking about taking a basic outline of a character's personality and applying it to another.**_

_**Please, don't think I'm pissed off or anything, because quite frankly I'm not. Although, I would prefer if you reviewed about the actual story, I find it rather pleasing to hear about what people think about my stories-good or bad-, and it helps me get better as a writer. For future reference just PM me regarding any questions. ^_^'**_

_**Gravenimage:**__** This is an AU fic, for obvious reasons. There was no 'Namikaze Naruto' in Highschool of the dead, and placing one in there makes it so. Naruto is extremely out of character, because he didn't develop it in the way he did in the magna/anime.**_

_**So, before I lose my train of thought, let's start on the story.**_

_**Yo, just as a warning, there is a poem within the first thousand words…I made it, although I don't really know how well written it is. I just felt it went with the mood…whatever, you've been warned. **_

…

Screams and shrieks alike could be heard echoing off the walls in the compounds of Fujimi High school, only to seem to be silenced by a particular groaning noise. Within moments, the groans would be intensified, as if someone else joined in making the ratchet sound. Although, listening past the screams and grunts, it would appear there was some form of retaliation going on. The sounds of blunt objects smashing into unprotected flesh, heavy bodies getting thrown into lockers or walls, and even the occasional smack resulting from a punch, would find their way to someone's ears. There was one noise…a noise that seemed so out of place, but yet, matched perfectly with the ongoing horrors.

It was a laugh.

Not just any joyous or humorous laugh, no, it was a laugh that held giddiness, an amount of giddiness that reached crazed levels. Someone was excited, and extremely so. However, one could only ask, as to why would someone be excited, maniac or not. How could someone even bring themselves to make even the slightest of giggles, let alone a full blown laughter in the current situation?

Most people were fleeing or at the very least attempting to hide somewhere, but there was one teen that was making no attempt to do either of the two. Would it be coincidental that the teen was the source of laughter? That teen was Namikaze Naruto, and currently, he was smashing heads of the students turned undead without an untold amount of amusement. The onslaught of grey skinned monsters hungrily approached the blonde without any sign of stopping, unaware that they basically signed their way back to their premature graves. Soon enough, a thick piece of metal ripped from the leg of a desk crushed any form of success they could've had.

Key word crushed.

Blood splattered everywhere within the vicinity of the bodies where it formerly laid still. Not disturbed in the slightest-_thrilled_-the teen slid a hand over his face; wiping it clean of red substance. Flicking the lifeblood off his appendage, Naruto gave out a bark of laughter, attracting more of **'them'** towards his position. Within moments, a new flood of flesh eaters rounded the corner, limping their way to their next meal. Not once did his laughter dim out, it continued shadowing the voracious groans.

In order to survive, you need to want it more than anything else. _Nothing_ can overpower your **need** to prevail. You must become the larger of the two forces, and continue with an unquenchable thirst for life.

It was in this case, the Namikaze's _thirst_ for blood was larger than the undead's craving for flesh.

* * *

_Hours later:_

'_They stumble upon my feet…_

A head fell lifeless to the ground, rolling unceremoniously.

_Looking for a quick feast…_

The crippled body soon followed in tow just moments after.

_Moaning in a despicable beat…_

Dull thuds rang through the air, ignored by those who could hear.

_Carrying a dangerous disease…_

Sickening wet crunches sounded about, caused by a savage blow to the head, vandalizing the once beautiful faces.

_One small nip and your dead…_

Uncontrolled moans continued regardless, completely unaware of the destruction of their only weapon.

_Ashen skin like the rising sky…_

Liquid splattered around carelessly, staining the once white walls crimson.

_Bloodied ears deaf to the cries of dread…_

Mangled limbs fell motionlessly to the ground, permanently separated from their body.

_Slumped heads no longer held high…_

Flesh was being pierced by humming metal, ripping in and out effortlessly.

_They will be in our mind…_

Unidentified body parts marked a trail of carnage, still moist in blood.

_Mourned long after this deadly blunder…_

Heavy footfalls crushed over any remaining obstacle, the owner happily aware.

_The deaths of our own kind…_

One remaining body tumbled down a flight of stairs, something new breaking with each step.

_Once they're six feet under…'_

A feminine scream echoed around from the story below, bouncing around in cause of mayhem's eardrums. Oh? It's had been at least a couple hours since any other human's vocal cords could be heard. Let alone a female. Taking less than a moment to decide, the slayer of undead hopped down the slippery blood covered stairs, swiftly making his way to the cry of distress.

Takagi Saya was an intelligent girl, extremely so. However, due to her massive mental capabilities, she was lacking a tidbit in the physical department. Not in the beauty sense either; she was one hell of a looker. No, in the sense of having the capability to save her life in her current situation is what she didn't have. The pink haired teen desperately attempted to halt the imposing doom that awaited. Yes, a mere four feet in front of her was a once male student turned into one of **them**, and he was going in for his next meal: Takagi Saya.

Hirano Kohta stood about ten feet away from the pink haired beauty, frantically trying to shoot at the approaching undead, just to hear an empty click. Hirano was a gun nerd, trained by a USA Blackwater contractor, feeding his obsession for firearms. Hence was the weapon in his hands, which formerly was just a simple nail gun. Since it was originally a nail gun, it needed nails, and that was something Kohta just ran out of. So, unfortunately, Kohta could do nothing to help Saya and her current predicament.

Saya screeched, throwing anything within reach at the approaching flesh eater, which just so happened to be a couple trophies "Stay away from me! Stay away!"

The trophies only bounced off the undead student, allowing it to advance closer to the pink haired teen. Letting out another scream, Saya closed her eyes covering her hands in front of her head, waiting for the bite that was soon to come. However, it didn't. Blinking an eye open, the Takagi was shocked to see the maw of the dead student a mere centimeter away from her nose, eagerly attempting to get a snip at her to no avail. Before anything else could happen, the undead was steadily raised from the ground, being pulled backwards, showing her the body behind it. With no warning, the gray skinned monster was slammed over the head of Saya's savior, effectively smashing it's cranium in.

Letting go of the dead body in his arms, Naruto let out a chuckle at the result of his suplex. Wiping the imaginary dust off his clothes, the blonde cackled with a lopsided grin "Hehehe that was _fun_! Keep on attracting them Pinky-chan!"

Saya could only stare ridiculously at her crazed sempai, although, one thought escaped her lips "W-what the h-hell?"

Naruto barked out gleefully, running towards the undead Kohta wasn't occupying himself with "Oh, yes! It is hell…HELL FOR _THEM_!"

Just before the Namikaze could reach the small amount of infected remaining, they were suddenly thrashed forward, either speared by a broken broomstick or splattered by a baseball bat. Out of the blonde's ruined folly, Komuro Takashi and Miyamoto Rei appeared, each looking rather winded. Naruto pointed an accusing bloodstained finger at them, and complained "Those were mine damn it!"

Komuro Takashi was an average Japanese male teenager, with dark pitched spiky hair. Everything about him was fairly normal, despite his depressing attitude as of lately. He usually kept to himself, but Takagi Saya and Igou Hisashi were known to associate with him. The boy was currently armed with a baseball bat, which was cocked to the side ready for any opposing threat.

Miyamoto Rei was a very well-endowed young woman, with light brown hair. She could be described as a rather fickle person at times, but was pleasant to be around. The young woman mostly kept to herself and her now deceased boyfriend, Igou Hisashi, due to having some trusting issues. Rei was also a member of the Sojutsu club, explaining the makeshift spear in her hands.

Naruto only received to blank stares in return, both completely unaffected by his crazed accusation. Quickly turning on his heel, Naruto charged towards the remaining undead who were coming from another hallway. Ironically enough, the last of **them **soon had their heads smashed in via bokken, by none other than Busujima Saeko, whom was being followed by a rather disgruntled Marikawa Shizuka. No complaint came from the crazed teen upon the sight of the two women; he rather turned his attention towards somewhere else, which happened to be glaring out the window.

Busujima Saeko was another well-endowed woman, but had an odd shade of black colored hair, sometimes having a purple or indigo tint to it. She had a very calm and collected personality, rarely ever acting brash; she was someone you could count on. Not much was really known about her socializing habits, although not as of late, she tended to hang out with Namikaze Naruto. The purple haired woman was the Taicho of the Kendo Club, explaining the bloody bokken in her grasp.

There was an awkward moment of silence, until the small sobs of Saya could be heard. This proved to be enough for Rei and Shizuka to run forward in attempt to comfort the girl. The later ended up smacking Kohta with her assets unintentionally. Saeko glanced at Naruto for a moment, until she turned her attention towards Takashi, who just locked the front doors. She stepped forward and asked "You already know the School Nurse, Marikawa-sensei, right? I'm Busujima Saeko, class 3A."

Takashi locked gazes with her, and responded calmly "I'm Komuro Takashi, class 2B."

Rei glanced at them with a smile, and spoke trying to lighten the mood "Busujima-san, I remember you won the National tournament last year, I'm Miyamoto Rei, and I'm in the Sojutsu club."

Kohta sheepishly added in "I-I'm Hirano Kohta, from class 2B…"

Saeko smiled and chimed "Nice to meet you all."

While Kohta was dealing with the positive response from the beautiful woman, Saya glared at them. Slowly getting up, she seethed "What's with all the respect? So what if is she's a grade up. You're the same age Miyamoto! You flunked!"

Takashi tried to cut in "What are you talking about, Takagi?"

Saya's glare widened, as she screeched "Don't treat me like I'm fucking stupid! I'm a genius! I couldn't lose to anyone if I fucking tried," She started sounding more desperate, with tears welling in her eyes "I'm…I'm…"

Saeko stepped forward, putting a hand on Saya's shoulder; she let out a sighed "Alright, that's enough."

Saya shakily trained her gaze on the full body mirror to her left, and mumbled "M-My clothes are all dirty…I'll need to have Mommy take them to the dry cleaners."

Takashi walked into the reflection, and gave her a hard stare. Saya flinched slightly, just before breaking down and crying into Saeko's chest. Everyone stared at the sight silently, feeling pity for the pink haired young woman.

Naruto's eyes suddenly widened hearing the choked sobs of Takagi, his blood lusting glower faltering for a moment. He turned to look at Saeko holding the wailing teen, and softly gasped. What was he doing? This situation, it wasn't something to enjoy…no, this was completely wrong. Within that moment, the carnage craving monster that he seemed to turn into disappeared. It was replaced with a solemn expression, his sympathy for the girl overweighing any amount of _evil_. Pursing his lips into a frown, Naruto inadvertently allowed his lidded gaze to return. Bringing his bloodstained hands up towards his face, the Namikaze indulged himself in thought.

'…_What happened to me? All of that killing…I…enjoyed it, but why?'_

While the teen was lost in his inner musings, Takashi took the time to stare at the final unknown survivor. He was the only one not to introduce himself, although, Takashi had seen him throughout the school a few times. Clearing his voice, the raven haired boy grunted "Hey, you haven't introduced yourself yet."

Everyone looked up at that, even the crying Saya, all interested in what the blonde boy had to say. Raising his lidded gaze towards the window, the Namikaze watched as people were being taken down left and right by their former classmates. Slowly, Naruto's fists clenched into tight balls, cracking menacingly. Training his eyes onto Takashi, the blonde spoke with an undertone of an unknown emotion "Naruto…Namikaze Naruto."

* * *

_**End of chapter 1…**_

_**Not much to say, I just wanted to get a small chapter out, ya' know…to give a little kick start to things. Not all chapters are going to be this small; usually it will be about four to five thousand words. Just don't expect huge five digit chunks, because, quite frankly, you're not going to get that from me. You can expect updates about every five to nine days, although they can come out sooner. This makes two stories I have to update, and I have a lot on my plate for the next week and half, but then I'm all clear for devotion.**_

_**Maelstrom-claymore, out.**_


	3. True intentions

_**Yo, I'm back! My computer got fried, we accidently left it on during a thunder storm, and well, you can guess the rest. All of my files got deleted, every program I had installed was lost, and we had to pay to get it fixed. That was…eh, a week ago…I think. I would've rewritten the chapter sooner, but I needed to find my Microsoft Office activation code before I could've done anything. That only took me five days. 3:**_

_**Don't even ask when the next update for the blonde Ashikabi is, because now I have to rewrite close to 10,000 words…if I can even remember most of it.**_

_***Sigh*, that story gives me a lot of trouble…**_

_**But, hey! Since the new update for FF, we get to see how popular our favorite stories actually are! I can't even tell you how good it was seeing my stories ranking over a lot of people, who update a whole lot more than I do. I may not be the best, but I live by the saying 'Quality over quantity'.**_

_**Mzr90:**_

…_**Bro's for life. Thanks for being the only reviewer for a little while, and at least I have some feedback on that poem. Honestly, I'm not a poet-far from it-, but I have my moments. ^_^ **_

_**luffyxrobin-luffyxnami:**_

_**I'm kind of wondering if you read the authors note at the end of the last chapter. I get people don't like small chapters, and I'm working on writing more with each update.**_

_**ForverYoung97:**_

_**Thanks, I'm glad to see someone appreciating my work.**_

_**MathiasMatt:**_

_**Oh, yes. He will be back, and is playing a major part in this story…good or bad.**_

_**darkreverie13:**_

_**No, Naruto is the only character, unless I decide to pull some background cameo or have an OC come in.**_

_**Now…let's get started.**_

* * *

Namikaze Naruto was running; the reason for doing so escaped his own comprehension. Rounding a corner, the blonde expertly slid to a stop before taking off sprinting in another direction. An odd sense of numb filled his head, which was nearly void of most rational thought. 'Make a distraction so the group with us can make it to the bus safely.' That was the plan concocted by one Komuro Takashi after all hell broke loose. Bad thing was, he agreed without a second thought. Again, he didn't know why he did it, although it was probably to rid himself of being in the daunting presence of Shizuka and Saeko.

_Daunting_…

To most people, that wouldn't have been the right word, but that's exactly the feeling he got when around those two. Subconsciously, Naruto knew it was his fault he felt that way. Before, the blonde felt as if he could talk about anything to them, but alas, that was _before_. After separating himself from both women, Naruto couldn't bring himself to even glance in their general direction. Be it merely childishness or physiological, the boy surely didn't have it in him. Maybe he was scared, scared of what they would think of him, or that they would just abandon him in some odd sense of the word.

However, as of now, he honestly didn't care. Communication issues with Saeko and Shizuka were the least of his worries, ensuring their survival was. He didn't have much to live for, his family was dead, and he had nobody to care about. Well, Saeko and Shizuka were there, but that was probably the reason he putting his life at stake. Sure, if he made it back to the bus and survived was fine, but if he didn't, oh well. Nobody would miss him, even if someone did; the state of the world was more of priority at the moment.

Absently pushing another member of the undead family out of his way, Naruto took notice to the group of survivors boarding the Microbus. Clearing his throat, the blonde bellowed a loud yell of "I'M RIGHT HERE, YOU PIECES OF SHIT!"

It did its purpose; soon enough waves of flesh eaters flooded his vision, all looking for their next meal. Oddly enough, due to the sudden outburst, another group of survivors, led by Shido Koichi, made it to the bus unharmed. The Namikaze smiled, his lazily lidded eyes closing in acceptance, he did his job, and both of his precious people were safe. Voracious moans filled his eardrums, all but ignored by the blonde. Soon enough, the bus would leave ensuring their survival, leaving him to his fate.

The bus never moved.

Azure eyes snapped open, widened in devastation and horror. Why wasn't the bus moving? This was their chance! The undead continued their way towards the blonde haired teen, this time, ignored. Leering over the heads of the practitioners of cannibalism, Naruto was shocked to see the bus completely still, waiting.

Waiting…for _him_.

No, they weren't supposed to wait for him, they had to leave! Anger filled his, no; violent and unbound fury was FLOODING his mind. With an angered roar, Naruto charged through the infected students, somehow taking a little bit of sadistic pleasure in hearing the cracking of their bones. Sprinting towards the bus that grew closer with each step, the blonde screamed "GO, DAMN IT! **LEAVE**!"

Still, the bus did not move, making it painfully clear they were waiting for him. With impeccable speed, the boy crashed into the extended doors of the bus, and dove in. No time was wasted as Shizuka slammed on the gas pedal, sending everyone back in their seats, or if you a Namikaze fling you backwards, rolling in an undignified heap. Brutally smashing into the very back seat of the bus head first, Naruto could only groan in an untold amount of pain, his anger dimming. After thirty more seconds of thrashing, the blonde lowly murmured something when the ride got smoother.

"My face…holy shit..." The smothered groan of the injured teen made itself known. Slowly pushing his body up into a sit position, a nasty gash revealed itself on his forehead with blood rushing out rapidly. Blinking a couple of times, his eyes dimly focused on his surroundings. He was on a bus that much was clear, but why? Before he could process it any further, his mind started getting hazy. Bringing a hand up to his forehead, Naruto felt a warm sticky substance soaking into his skin. Sliding his hand out in front of him, he absently noticed it was blood.

Koichi Shido was a very sleazy man, but an intelligent one at that. He looked fairly average, although, his smile was very snake like, which most people ignored. The man was very well liked amongst his students; only a few were on bad terms with the man, two of them were Miyamoto Rei and Hirano Kohta, the latter being discrete about it. Overall, the man was not someone you could trust.

Shido steadied himself, and quickly shot out of his seat. The teacher shot a pointed glare at Naruto, who was slowly stumbling towards the front of the bus, and got in the boy's way. With a cool tone, Shido spoke "Namikaze-san that was most foolish. We were almost overrun waiting for you!"

Naruto panted softly and steadily picked his gaze upwards to look at the angry man. Meeting eye contact with Shido, the blonde slid a hand over his wound, and grunted "Get out of my way, Shido."

Shido didn't even flinch at the command, while a boy with an odd choice of hair stood up and growled "Don't make demands asshole! You almost got everyone killed, because of your dumbass bitch driving the bus!"

Several people's eyes narrowed in obvious distaste of the teen's statement. Naruto, however, glanced up towards the driver's seat, were Shizuka was currently driving, her head held low. Training his gaze onto the boy, Tsunoda was the kid's name if he remembered correctly, the Namikaze mused in a weakened slur, finishing in English "Of all the things…_you said_ _that_."

With blinding speed, Naruto stepped forward and reared back his fist in perfect form. Faster than anyone could process, the Namikaze landed a devastating left hook to Tsunoda's cheek. The boy was sent flying backwards, but Naruto grabbed his collar and pulled him back into a vicious head-butt. Hooking both arms under the nearly unconscious teen, the blonde slammed him over his shoulders, causing a loud _thump_. Tsunoda let out a silent scream, wheezing, blood escaped his lips with each breath.

Naruto spat out a glob of blood on the downed form of Tsunoda, and turned his attention towards a flabbergasted Shido. Stepping forward, he grabbed the sensei by the scruff of his shirt and hoisted him up in the air. Flashing a bloody Cheshire grin, Naruto cackled with glee, rearing his fist back to strike the man. Suddenly a bokken found its way in front of the blonde, accompanied by the voice of Saeko "That's enough."

Takashi stepped forward as well, his eyes narrowed in seriousness, he agreed in his normal tone "Saeko's right, there's no need to hurt him."

Naruto's features slowly softened, glancing towards Saeko he noticed she nodded, as if enforcing her command. Shido was gingerly set to the ground seemingly freed from the teen's grasp, but was suddenly sent tumbling backwards, glasses broken along with some of his teeth. Shido let out ear piercing scream, somewhat distorted by his bloodied mouth. Everyone's eyes widened at the very least while most gasped in surprise, ignored by Naruto's hoarse laughter. Pushing past Saeko and Takashi, the teen of subject picked Shido up by his neck, and dragged him up towards his face. Tilting his head slightly, Naruto whispered completely in English "_Huh? I didn't…quite catch that_..."

The next thing the barely conscious Shido knew, he was being thrown with tremendous force to the back of the bus. With heavy thud, the teacher landed on his back, arms bent in an uncomfortable position. Naruto gave a satisfied grunt, just before he weaved forward, eyes rolling into the back of his head. With a dull thud, the Namikaze landed on the ground, unconscious.

* * *

…

Everything was silent; the only noise being made was the quiet hum of the bus rolling throughout the dreary area. Embers from multiple fires lit the darkening sky, glowing in an ominously calm fashion, uncaring for the disasters below. Inky shadows crept away the buildings, as if fearing the horrors experienced there just mere hours ago. Even the setting sun hid behind the wispy clouds of soot and ash, not wanting to shine light to aura of death seeping in the air.

In the bus that steadily continued moving rested a large group of teens and a couple of teachers, all of which were dreadfully numb from the events that they fought through earlier that day. Some were sleeping, trying to dream away the traumatizing event. Others were awake, just keeping to themselves, reflecting. There were three, however, that were just waking up, two of which having been put asleep by the third an hour ago. It was those two who picked themselves off the floor silently, ignoring their sore bodies, and sent dark glares at the final awakening person.

Naruto let out a low groan as he groggily opened his eyes, his head throbbing with confusion and pain. A wet pop met the boy's back when he sat up, followed a couple more when he stretched out tiredly. Glancing around, the Namikaze noted Takashi was the closest one to him, and asked "When did I fall asleep?"

Takashi cocked an eyebrow, and parroted "Fell asleep? You passed out, man. Busujima-sempai isn't all that happy with you either."

Cracking his stiff neck, the blonde trained his gaze towards the purple haired woman, and saw that she was glaring at his newly awoken form. Taking his turn to cock an eyebrow, Naruto inquired "Shido?"

The curt reply of Takashi simply confirmed his suspicion "Shido."

Not even bothering to hold it back, Naruto sighed, and lazily reached into his pocket. After rummaging around for a few moments, he pulled out an IPod touch, and quickly unlocked it. Flicking around the screen for a second or two, the blonde raised it above his head, confusing anyone looking at him. Before the question could be asked, a little click was heard, signifying that a picture was taken. Bringing the IPod back down, Naruto examined the photo he took.

Hissing slightly, the young Namikaze rose from his seat, his sights on Shizuka's medical kit. As soon as he got up, many people in the back started whispering to each other, obviously talking about the blonde. After treating his wound with alcohol, Naruto turned towards the back of the bus, ignoring the hushes some people made, and started wrapping his forehead in gauze. He breathlessly started speaking "Alright, I'm going to be frank about this. I don't care about any of you or what you could possibly have to say to me. If you haven't noticed, the world has gone to shit. I'm not in the mood for listening about some little gossiping Japanese schoolgirls talking about how much of an asshole I am." Tsunoda looked as if he was about to say something, but Naruto cut him off "Yeah, that means you too, shrimp-dick. Y'all can hate me, but it won't change anything."

Naruto's expression became stoic as he finished quietly "Either way…most of you won't live long enough for me to regret it."

Shido suddenly stood up, and cleared his throat "Thank you, Namikaze-_san_. This has only proved one thing. We need a leader, someone who can guide us to safety. If I was the leader, I would prevent conflict, just like the kind Namikaze-_san_ has started."

Saya bitterly chose to speak up "It doesn't take a genius to deduce what you're playing out right now. You want to be the leader."

Shido merely made a hand gesture, and scoffed "Well, of course! Being a teacher, I'm the only one qualified to take up such a position."

Shizuka gently pushed on the break, causing the large vehicle to come to a soft stop, and put the bus in park. Turning her head around, the well-endowed woman watched curiously as the events played out. Not that she wanted Shido to become the leader, she just figured it would probably better for the bus to be at rest, rather than moving for what was likely to happen.

Shido cleared his throat once again, and turned towards the back of the bus and asked "What do you all say?"

It took a moment, but soon the majority of the bus started clapping for the man, showing their decision. Shido turned back towards the front, and gave a pointed glare towards Naruto while he chuckled "By unanimous decision…I've become the leader."

With a sharp intake of breath, Rei shot up from her seat and pushed past Naruto, leaving the bus. Naruto could clearly see her reason. Hell, being in the mere presence of Shido pissed him off. Hearing someone get up, the blonde saw it was Takashi moving towards the door. He held out his hand, and sighed "I'll get her, don't worry."

Takashi seemed reluctant, but nodded, allowing the teen to go. Carefully making his way off the bus, Naruto called "Miyamoto-san, wait."

Rei quickly turned around, and yelled "There's no way I'm going to be anywhere near him!"

Taking a couple more steps towards the girl, Naruto spoke calmly "I get it, you obviously don't like the guy, and neither do I. But, you have to put up with him a little bit longer, until we can-"

The young woman cut him off by growling angrily "Put up with him? Don't give me that bullshit; you have no room to talk!"

Taking a moment to think, Naruto admitted 'Damn, she does bring up a valid point.' Shaking the thought off, he asked "It's dangerous out here, what do you propose we do then…?"

The young Namikaze trailed off when heard the sound of a roaring engine off in the distance. Turning towards the sound, both survivors saw a bus full of infected flipping towards them. Wasting no time, Naruto grabbed Rei by the waist and dove towards the tunnel behind them. By mere feet, the bus slammed to a stop, blocked off by the very same tunnel.

Fire slowly spread across the pavement, jolting Naruto from his daze. He looked down into his lap and saw the wide red eyes of Rei staring at him, obviously shocked. Turning his attention towards the bus that blocked off the exit, Naruto heard the voice of Saeko "Naruto, are you both unharmed?"

Before an answer could be made, a score of undead busted out of the heated windows of the smoking bus, all set on fire. They limped their way towards the others, so he quickly blurted out "Shit, where should we meet?"

Takashi this time barked back, preparing to fight the flame encased flesh eaters "How about the East Police Station?"

Taking a few steps away from the burning bus, Naruto grabbed Rei's shoulder as he hollered a reply "Fine! We'll be there by seven pm, if it doesn't work out, then tomorrow at the same time!"

Not needing a response, the blonde haired teen pulled Rei into a sprint, frantically trying to escape the tunnel. Not with a moment to spare it would seem, as the bus exploded just as they were a few feet out. Coming to a stop at the end of the street, both teens panted, trying to catch their breath. Behind them was a set of stairs leading up to higher ground. A small pebble abruptly fell down said flight of stairs, causing Naruto to turn around.

With no other warning, an undead with a biker's helmet pounced on the blonde, attempting to gain an easy meal. Had it been anyone else, the undead would have succeeded in at least taking down the victim, but alas, not Naruto. Nailed by a savage uppercut, the infected man was suddenly sent in the other direction, falling back into the stairs. Lifting up his leg up, Naruto mutely stomped the undead's throat out, instantly killing it. Muttering something under his breath, the teen sat down taking a much needed moment to calm down.

After a few moments of silence, Rei spoke "Naruto-san."

Naruto looked up to see the extended hand of Rei, as she continued with a comforting smile "Let's go."

Taking a moment, the blonde nodded and accepted the help up. They both started walking up the stairs, being careful not to attract any unwanted attention. Once reaching the flat grassy top, Rei sighed lightly "Are we going to walk all the way to the city?"

Naruto scratched his chest gruffly, and murmured "No, that guy had a helmet, which hopefully means he was near a street bike when he had turned." As if his words were magic, an orange Dirt-bike came into view. "And there it is."

Rei could only watch as the young man lifted the bike up, and started inspecting it. After a few moments of checking, Naruto sat on the bike and uttered "Moment of truth, I suppose."

Kicking the gears down into neutral, Naruto's hand opened above the throttle in preparation. With a hard kickstart, the orange Dirt-bike gave a low roar. Shrugging slightly, the young Namikaze gave Rei a little nod. Slowly getting on the back, the young woman scooted unsurely towards Naruto, wrapping her arms around his stomach. With all set, the Namikaze pulled back on the throttle, and they were off.

* * *

After a few hours of driving, it was clear as day to Naruto how true his earlier statement was. The world was in utter chaos. Fires spread across the towns unattended, razing buildings to the ground. Bodies littered the streets, neglected by everything but the birds. Even the undead were all still alive, roaming about with an unsatisfied hunger. And above all, they were nearly out of gas.

Fantastic…

Added to the fact Rei was still stingy at him for not checking out a police car they saw earlier, everything was just going great for the Namikaze. Pulling into a gas station, Naruto parked the bike at a pump. Turning towards his female companion, the blonde asked hopefully "Please tell me you have some money on you…no, great."

Seeing the sheepish expression on the girl's face was alone enough of a response, so he started walking towards the building. Glancing back at Rei, Naruto warned "If anything happens, just scream. I'll be there before you know it."

Rei gave the young man a nod, prompting him to continue his way into the gas station. Carefully searching the small convenience store for any undead, he was relieved to fine none. He didn't want to attract any unnecessary attention after all. Hopping over the counter where the registers were located, he quickly punched in a thousand yen into the pad. Clicking subtotal, Naruto just randomly entered twenty five hundred, and then change. Hearing the reassuring 'cha-ching', he hastily pocketed a handful of bills.

Just as he was about to hop back over the counter, he heard a high pitched scream of "NARUTO!"

Cursing, Naruto cleared the counter and rushed out the door, catching the sight of dark skinned man, dressed in gangster like clothing, holding Rei at knifepoint. The man's hand eagerly gripped onto Rei's breast, as he let out an immature howl. Oh, great. It was one of _those_ guys. Not even hiding his scowl, Naruto listened to the crazy man babble "Whoa, would ya look at the tits on this one! She's your girlfriend?"

Naruto's scowl deepened, and the man continued "Have you fucked her yet-"

The young Namikaze cut him off in a very dark tone "I'd suggest you let her go…_now_."

The man grinned showing his metallic grill, and chuckled "Why would I do that? I need a bitch to last this thing out, and I've just found myself one!"

Naruto took a step forward, but the man slashed part of Rei's shirt off, stopping him mid trek. The man's grin widened slightly, as he chimed "Nuh-uh, I wouldn't do that. Start filling up the bike or the bitch gets it."

Naruto scoffed in obvious distaste of the situation "Of all the things to say," The man slowly pushed the knife into Rei's skin, causing her to bleed a bit "Oh, for fucks sake…"

The teen slowly shuffled over to the pump and reached into his pocket for the wad of bills, until he felt something. Just as the man was about to make a demand of him again, Naruto pivoted on his heel and chucked his IPod, hitting the man square in the teeth, shattering on contact. Letting loose a scream, the man staggered backwards, releasing Rei. Capitalizing, Naruto rushed forward and tackled the man to the ground.

The man recovered slightly, allowing him to attempt stabbing Naruto in the throat. Catching the man's wrist, Naruto's twisted and pushed it in a clockwise motion, while pulling his elbow in. A moment later, the man's arm was broken at the elbow, causing him to release a howl of pain. He was only to be silenced a moment later by his own knife entering his throat. A bloody gurgle escaped his lips as he thrashed around, completely held still by Naruto.

Seconds later, the light left the man's eyes signifying his death. A full minute later, Naruto got off the corpse of his victim and turned towards Rei. Rei herself, expected to see the blood lusting psychopath from before grinning with glee. However, what she saw was shocking. Naruto had morbid expression on his face, trying to cope with what he just did.

Rei watched as he mutely put bills into machine and pumped gas with a faraway look in his eyes. Soon enough groans and moans alike could be heard approaching them from the shadows, both with voracious intentions. Naruto stopped pumping gas and picked up the knife he used to stab the man and glared at it, a moment later he stuffed it in his pocket. Turning towards Rei, he gestured towards the bike and got on. Rei quietly followed in suit, taking her spot behind and clinging onto Naruto.

Minutes later, they were already down the road, the gas station nowhere in sight. The chilling wind blew into Rei's face; finally giving the young woman enough reason to rest her head on Naruto's back. She felt him flinch ever so slightly, but eventually relaxed and gave her full support. The horrors of the day finally catching up to her, she whispered with a few tears cascading down her cheeks "I-It's a-all my fault…"

For the first time in what seemed like an eternity, Naruto spoke, his tone soft and voice smooth "No…it's not. I don't blame you for what happened back there…I killed a man today, Rei. I watched his eyes lose their light…and now, I've come to a conclusion…"

Rei's grip around him tightening as she sniffled "W-What?"

Naruto put one of his hands on top of hers, and answered evenly while giving her a comforting squeeze "I'll do anything in my power to make sure you're safe… and that's a promise..."

He suddenly felt Rei's form relax into his back, her breathing evened out. Ignoring the devastation he passed as he drove down the road, Naruto frowned and proclaimed softly "I won't let anybody else die…not anymore…"

_**End of chapter three…**_

* * *

_**Yeah, there you have it. I'm not even going to get started on how tedious it is to rewrite things, so please excuse some of the errors. I believe I was using way too many comas; I'm out of my grammar groove it seems. This chapter has some nicer length to it, about an extra thousand words than I had before. The original document only went to Naruto and Rei leaving the bus.**_

_**So that brings this chapter length to just over 4,200 words, not including the Author's Notes, which is about 4,800 words in total. I'm not going to throw names around (Cough, cough, **__**Luffy**__**, cough, cough), but I hope this satisfies you for a little bit. I'm trying to focus on other things than writing at the moment, but I keep finding myself back here. Must be those damn mind-gypsies, I swear.**_

_**Well, see ya guys later.**_

_**Maelstrom-claymore, out.**_


	4. Mentality and Murderer

_**I apologize for the long overdue update, this is all on me and I acknowledge that. I didn't even start typing this up until 8/13. Please enjoy the chapter…**_

* * *

…

Naruto fought to keep his eyes open, the amount of exhaustion he was experiencing clearly showed on his stoic face. After driving all throughout the night, the Namikaze hadn't slept a wink unlike his optimistic companion. Even as the bright sun took its place in the middle of the sky, nothing seemed to give the blonde any extra drive to stay awake. Coming upon a stop, their path was narrowly blocked by a large amount of cars parked on the sides of the street.

Taking a moment to rest his head on his forearms, Naruto mutely closed his eyes, attempting to find some sort of comfort. Rei glanced uneasily at the teen; he hadn't spoken more than five or six words since the gas station last night, and he carried an odd air about him. Marking it off as him being tired, she stayed quiet, giving the guy a moment to himself. It seemed her silence was in vain, as multiple explosions and gunshots sounded in the distance, followed by boisterous yells of enjoyment.

Rei flinched back when she heard the young man grip the throttle so tightly the rubber squeaked. Picking his gaze from his forearm, Naruto glared at the destruction that laid fifty yards in front of him. There was only one thought present in the blonde's mind, and even Rei could guess what that was.

Someone was going to get hurt…**badly**.

Abruptly stepping off the bike, Naruto steadily started walking towards the series of gunshots and explosions. Rei exclaimed ridiculously "You can't be serious!"

However, when Naruto turned around to face her, she knew all too well that he was. That despicable blood-lusting glower and crazed smile were both present, each widened to their extremes. Simply cackling at the girl's frightened expression; Naruto turned back to his previous path and lurched his way down the road.

There were three men, each armed with a weapon of choice. The leader was toting a pump action shotgun of some make, as well as one of his lackeys. The final man was armed with a butcher's knife, which posed some questions. It was a certain blue eyed blonde who voiced them "Why bring a knife to a gunfight, stupid?"

All the men turned towards the voice, only for the lackey with the shotgun to be punched in the throat. Dropping his firearm, the man grabbed his throat, gasping for breath, but finding none. To his horror, his windpipe was crushed in allowing blood to seep out through the corners of his lips. This terrifying realization was short lived as he was soon shot in the chest by his very own weapon at point blank range. The man was sent flying back in recoil, his body emptying all its contents on the ground.

The leader, seeing his lackey getting blown to pieces, roared in rage and fired away towards the now gun toting blonde. Unfortunately for the man, his shots completely missed their target, proving to be his first _and_ final mistake. In a similar fashion as his friend, the man was sent flying backwards, innards raining onto the ground. The final man froze in place, scared witless as the blonde pointed his barrel towards him.

Naruto grinned as he pulled the trigger, but was surprised to only hear an empty click. Shrugging, the teen tossed the gun to the side and proclaimed completely in English _"Eh, whatever…!"_

The man grinned sadistically while rushing Naruto; _this kid was completely fucked_! Oh, how wrong he was. The man threw a wild slash at the taller teen, attempting lop an arm off. With reflexes so fast, Naruto caught the man's wrist tightly and pulled forward. The man's head reeled back as he was punched square in the jaw, a heavy smack was created from the blow. The knife fell from the man's hands, long forgotten due to literally biting off his tongue. Naruto let the man stagger back, blood and screams escaped his mouth along with a piece of bloody flesh. Reaching into his pocket, the blonde retrieved the switchblade that he confiscated from the man he killed at the gas station. Staring at it for a split second, he froze, eyes narrowed in thought.

This knife, the knife that had already taken life, was he going to end another with it? Watch as the blood seeped onto his clothes, staining his conscious even more? Hell, could he even bring himself to do it? To purposely end someone's existence when he didn't have to? He could just leave right now, let the man live, at least to survive a little bit longer.

Naruto's crazed qualities soon dropped from his face, revealing a small aloof smile. He flipped the blade out and started walking towards the backpedaling man. Closing the distance painfully slowly, the blonde hovered over the man, looking at him dead in the eye. The man shakily matched the blonde's gaze, but when he did, his eyes widened in utter terror. The teen's eyes, they were perfectly rational, he was completely aware of what he doing and seemed perfectly okay with it. Those were the man's last thoughts before he felt a jolting pain in his chest, and everything went black.

Absently retracting his blade from the man's chest, Naruto turned away towards the other men's bodies, ignoring the dull thud behind him. He quickly put the knife away, and jogged over to the two shotguns that lay on the ground abandoned. Moving on, he checked the bodies for any extra ammunition and was not disappointed. The leader had a belt with twenty extra shells, from the looks of it, they were buckshot. Simply clamping it around his own waist, Naruto checked the lackey. The man also had an ammunition belt, although it was a tactical addition with forty eight full slots of shells. Securing it over his left shoulder to right hip, Naruto made his way back to Rei.

To Naruto's chagrin, Rei pulled up on the dirt bike sporting a worried expression on her face. The blonde gave her a shrug, a sheepish grin tugging on his lips. Rei placed the kickstand down and slid back, waiting for Naruto to get on. The blue eyed young man handed the woman one of the firearms and took his seat in front. Throwing a glance back to Rei, Naruto put the kickstand back up and evenly pulled on the throttle. There was no other exchange before the pair was zooming down the street, no words neither spoken nor needed.

* * *

...

(Hours later)

The sun was starting to set as Rei grew restless. For what was now almost a full day, they had done nothing but drive. Well, Naruto had killed a few people, but that was beside the point. She was tired and bored, and nothing seemed to be changing that. Added to the fact that all of the bridges were blocked off, they had no way to get to the police station across the river. Just as she was about to complain, Naruto came to an abrupt stop.

Holding a palm out to silence any talking, Naruto turned his head as if to listen to something. There was silence for a few seconds before a little thumping sound was heard. It was soon followed by a few more, and Rei had to ask "Gun shots?"

Naruto yawned out a response "Nwaaaail…ghuun…"

Before Rei could even ask, her blonde sempai revved up the engine loudly. With an unprepared squeak, Rei had to cling onto Naruto as they sped off at an intense pace, nearly pulling the front wheel off the ground. Turning down a street, everything became blurry as the bike maxed out in speed. Rei could make out one thing though, and that was the large semi-truck with a boarding ramp parked right before an underpass. With wide eyes, she screamed as Naruto leaned forward while moving up the ramp. Just as they reached the peak of the ramp, the very same blonde pulled back giving them an extra spring, easily clearing the jump.

Landing with a screech, both teens were relieved to see their previous group no less than fifty meters away, fighting off a horde of undead. With a grimace, Naruto sped towards the group of flesh eaters and power-slided through them. Shaking the bike back into balance, the blonde came to a stop in front of Saya and Shizuka, before jumping off. Rei soon followed and watched as Naruto grabbed shotgun hanging across his back and started unloading on the undead.

Rei turned towards Kohta and yelled while throwing the shotgun towards him "Hirano-san, catch!"

Kohta caught the gun with ease and stared at it in complete awe. A mere moment later, a crazed glint entered his eye. Before anyone knew it, the young Hirano was taking out the undead just as fast as the Namikaze. Within moments, everything with grey skin was suffering from bullet holes and smashed in heads.

Naruto sighed and leaned back on the railing on the side of the bridge, his exhaustion overwhelming him to sit down. It felt so good just to let it go, and he wanted nothing more than to sleep. Saeko said something he didn't quite catch, while Rei pounced on Shizuka, yelling something happily. Just as he was nodding off, Saeko approached him and asked rhetorically "I take it the Tokonosu Bridge is also closed off?"

The blonde didn't bother to open an eye; he groaned out a response of "No shit."

Not even batting an eyelash at the teen's vulgar language, Saeko smiled and proclaimed sincerely "If that's the case, I'm glad to see you're okay, Naruto."

Inwardly sighing, Naruto opened his eyes and saw the smile on her face, and couldn't help, but apologize lowly "Sorry…"

Saeko offered a confused blink, and questioned "Sorry for what?"

Naruto pulled himself up from his sitting position and started walking away. Just as he came parallel with the young woman, he stated neutrally "For being an idiot."

Saeko's eyes widened, but before she could speak, Takashi approached Naruto and asked "Did you not sleep at all? You look exhausted."

Kohta also seemed to have something to add, as he exclaimed joyfully "Namikaze-sempai~, where did you get this?! A Weatherby SAS Field-WITH-extended six shell capacity, and pump action to boot!"

Naruto grumbled a bit, and put a hand over his face, only allowing a few words escaping his fingers "Later…after I get…some sleep…"

After a little while, they went to the bottom of the bridge by the riverbank, and discussed what their next course of action should be. Naruto kept weaving in and out of awareness, so he couldn't recall what happened for the life of him. Soon enough, the blonde found himself ushered down the street by Takashi in front of a highly fenced apartment. There was a massively gated descending driveway with a Humvee parked out front, while the actual house laid above ground a good dozen feet. He noticed undead coming out from inside the house, and then everything went blank.

* * *

…

Naruto blinked as he regained awareness. His vision was blurry and the only thing he could make out was his blood covered hands. He looked around and saw he was sitting down on a couch, Takashi and Kohta were trying to pry open a safe with a crowbar. They appeared rather clean, which was an oddity in itself. Blinking a few times, the blonde got up and walked over to the pair. Silently gesturing for them to get out of the way, the young man simply set up the crowbar to where it was pointing out straight, and backed up a couple paces. With a sharp intake of breath, Naruto push kicked the end of the crowbar, immediately breaking the hinges and locks in the safe.

Naruto's arms fell slack to his sides, his fingers limply dangled as he turned to sit back down on the couch, though he didn't understand as to why he didn't feel as exhausted as before. Figuring it was him having a lapse in consciousness; the blonde couldn't help but shudder. If he wasn't in control of his body, and during a time of crisis like now, he could unintentionally do something devastating. Finding enough reason to break the odd silence that ensnared the three of them, Naruto asked quietly "Where are the girls at?"

While Kohta was having a fan-boy moment upon finding more firearms, Takashi plopped down on the couch and muttered tiredly "All of them went into the bathroom…coming up on two hours ago…I'm fairly sure that they found some sort of alcohol too."

'_Well, that wasn't exactly a productive thing, now was it?'_ Shaking his head, the Namikaze continued questioning "Is there another bathroom? I don't mind it, but I rather not be covered in blood."

Takashi gestured to the door at the end of the living room, before turning his attention on the television. Making his way past the door, he was greeted by the sight of a sparsely accommodated room. There was a rather large King sized bed, a couple dressers, and a door leading into what he assumed was the second bathroom. Dragging his feet into the next door, he glanced around, catching sight of what could only be described as an odd bathroom.

Ammunition and empty casing littered any flat surface; the reason for being there was as much as a mystery of who this friend of Shizuka's really was. Panties and other undergarments rested on the floor, carelessly slipped off and left to sit. Toiletries were scattered about, some in the right places, other's not so much. Oddly enough, there was a urinal and toilet, both of which looked fairly fancy. A walk-in closet sprouted off further into the wall, all sorts of clothing hung and folded in place. Lastly, the shower was pretty large, and there were plenty of soaps to use.

Deciding his examination was over; Naruto proceeded to strip, idly glancing in the mirror as he did so. Just as he was about to hop into the shower, he noticed he still had bandages wrapped around his forehead, now rusty brown in color. Gingerly removing the gauze, he discarded them in the little bin next to the toilet, and turned to start the water for the shower. After doing so, Naruto stood patiently waiting for the water to gain a reasonable temperature before entering.

* * *

**_A few hours later..._**

When given time to reflect, no one was in the brightest of moods. Takashi felt a lot of anxiety when thinking how his parents were doing. Rei was a, for a lack of a better term, '_clusterfuck_' of emotions, all of which were negative. Kohta was busying his attention with guns, trying to distract himself from the horrors of the day. Saya was being her typical bratty self, although, she was just as distressed as anyone else. Despite Shizuka's bubbly demeanor, the young woman was yearning for someone to comfort her. Even Saeko was quieter than usual, in the poor attempt to hide it though; she kept a small-_strained _-smile in place.

The only person who seemed completely normal was Naruto. Upon leaving the shower, the teen donned a pair of unfortunately tight sweatpants and a constricting black hoodie. Past his initial discomfort, the blonde got comfy on the couch, and was idly watching the TV. Even if he was slightly annoyed due to the loss of his IPod, Naruto seemed more refreshed than anything else. The Namikaze even pulled up the hood of the hoodie, and…snuggled…into the pleasantly soft blanket cloaked around his body.

Getting bored with the current program on the television, which just so happened to be about the current world-wide pandemic, Naruto turned it off. He casually glanced around the room, observing what the others were doing. Takashi was sitting on the ground leaning against the foot of the couch, just as bored as he was. And of course, Kohta was sighting in the rifle he got his hands on a little while ago, nerdy grin in place. Oddly enough, Saeko appeared out of the bathroom, and was heading towards the kitchen. That wasn't odd in itself; the oddity was what she was currently wearing…or rather lack thereof. Just a simple pair of black panties and a cooking apron were all that clang to her nearly nude body.

It seemed her appearance caught both Naruto's and Takashi's attentions, seeing as they both had similar thoughtful expressions on their faces. Takashi couldn't help but stare, watching as her hips swayed with each step. You couldn't blame the boy, despite the situation; a nice booty was still a nice booty. The raven haired lad had to pry his gaze from the young woman, less he be caught acting like a pervert. If there was one thing that Takashi didn't want, that was facing Saeko's wrath.

Naruto, however, merely scratched his head at the sight, his thoughts going elsewhere. Within moments, his mind was flashing through many different subjects. The most prominent being how was he going to be able to 'get off' during a zombie apocalypse? They soon became less explicit as he was distracted by his displeased stomach. Food…well, it appeared Saeko was going to cook, so to hell with that. Throwing his hands behind his head, Naruto lazily shuffled around on the couch until he was hanging upside down. Seemingly satisfied with his position, the blonde hummed in attempt to entertain himself.

A few minutes went by and the only noises coming from anybody were Naruto's humming and Saeko boiling water. Takashi's patience fell, his boredom overcoming anything else. The teen left the room and disappeared into the kitchen. Within a few moments, Takashi easily started up a conversation with Saeko. They talked for a good amount of time, but nothing was really said. Just small opinions on everyday matters were discussed; nothing worth eavesdropping over.

Naruto unceremoniously fell on head, there was too much blood running to his brain to properly catch himself. Letting out an indignant 'oomph', the teen just sat there for a few moments, strangely finding the situation comfortable. He rolled over to his side after his neck started disagreeing with his posture. Crawling back onto the couch, Naruto huffed in an annoyed manner as his blankets were now scattered about. Just as he pulling the blankets back into place, a pair of slender wet arms wrapped around his neck. The teen felt his body run cold, opposed to the hot, sultry voice that rang into his eardrums "Mhm…Na_aaa_-ru_uuu_-cha_aa_n…"

Every syllable struck a chord in the blonde's chest, just like the delicate fingers that ran over it. Naruto felt a round chin rest on the top of his hoodie clad head, followed by a large bosom hugging his neck in the crevice between the two mounds of flesh. The young Namikaze swayed forward a few inches, while slowly turning his head to the woman clinging onto him. Just before he saw anything more than the light hair of his fellow blonde, she slithered farther into him, her dainty body melting into his broad back. The woman, which was clearly Shizuka, cooed with a slight slur "O_ooh_, na-N_a_r_ u_t_o_-k_uuu_n…"

Shizuka cuddled her way into Naruto's chest moving under his arms, while the teen didn't respond in the slightest. She cutely attempted to peak at his face, but she could only see stoic lips due his hood falling over his eyes. The woman softly trailed a hand across his cold cheek; a pout formed on her lips as she gained no reaction. The well-endowed nurse wrapped her hands around the back of his neck and started pulling herself up towards his face, more specifically: his lips. Closer and closer Shizuka came, her breathing became shallow, just enough to reach Naruto's own face.

Inwardly, Naruto's heart was pounding heavily. Each pump of blood was like the beat of a drum, thumping loudly in climax. His spine shivered as a cold sweat broke out all over his body. A pin like pain rolled over his now numb hands; it felt like he had no blood circulation despite his erratic heartbeat. To top it all off, he was so stunned he couldn't even breathe. How could he possibly react when his heart was beating like a drum - his skin felt as cold as snow – his hands were as useless as lead – when he felt like he was drowning?!

Shizuka's upper lip softly pecked at his lower lip, so soft, they barely touched. After what felt like an eternity for Naruto, Shizuka slowly slid down, dragging his lip down about an inch before she fell into his chest motionlessly. With wide eyes, Naruto trained his gaze down to the woman nuzzled into his blanket enshrouded torso. _'She…she fell asleep?'_ True to suspicion, Shizuka was clearly unconsciousness, snoring cutely into his warmth.

Poking his cheek with his tongue, Naruto began pondering about what possessed Shizuka to make such an advance on him. While Takashi said that they were most likely drinking alcohol, he didn't think it was that alone. Sure, it might have given her the _push_ to do so, but there was obviously a reason lying below the liquid courage. But, if all that was true…that could only mean-

Naruto was broken from his musings as he heard Takashi scream in anger "I'M NOT HISASHI! HE'S DEAD, I'M ALIVE, AND I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU THINK! I AM _NOT_ HIM!"

'_Well…shit.'_ Naruto gently attempted moving Shizuka off his person without waking her. This proved to be rather difficult, as the woman had a death grip. It was actually quite a blow to his self-esteem that he couldn't remove a Japanese woman from his chest with pure strength. So, trying any way possible to remove the woman, Naruto spent a whole ten minutes freeing himself. Strangely enough, all's it took was a little tickling…

Just as the blonde stood up, he was greeted by the sound of his dirt-bike revving up. Before he could even question it, Kohta started firing rounds off the balcony, howling like an idiot having fun. Saeko raced past him, still clad in only panties and apron, grabbing anything she could. A mere moment later, Saeko was joined by Saya, both packing things at an amazing pace. To make matters even worse-_or better _-Shizuka sat up groggily, leaving _absolutely_ _nothing_ left for the blonde to fantasize about.

Grabbing his shotgun and ammunition belts, Naruto casually clipped them into place. Slipping on his shoes, the blonde brandished his newly obtained knife and gazed at it. Ever so slowly, a sick grin stitched itself across his face threatening to split it in two. With a final chuckle, a deadly gleam appeared in the young Namikaze's eyes. The metal in the blade whistled as it ripped through the air, _just like the crazed tune of its wielder._

_**.**_

_**.**_

_**.**_

_**End of chapter four…**_

_**Not much to say, other than another apology. Again, I'm sorry for not updating anything in a little whole, for a couple of weeks I just seriously forgot about Fanfiction. That was mostly due to hanging out with friends, but I started procrastinating about two weeks ago when I remembered school was about to start. I've already been in class for six days now; it started on the seventh, while we have today off 'cuz of voting.**_

_**On a completely different note, I've discovered I'm a natural for the superman punch. Hit my body bag with it, and then SWOOSH, damn thing went flying almost like I did a push-kick! **_

_**While this wasn't the largest of chapters, four thousand words is pretty good for a day and a half of work. There might be a few mistakes, but eh, I haven't written anything in like a month…or I'm too lazy to check it over thoroughly? Well…that's all I guess. Hope you enjoy the chapter, and continue reading my story. **_

_**Maelstrom-claymore, out.**_


	5. Fuck 'da loops

_**Yo, my fateful readers! I've been working out a lot lately. So, for the past five or six weeks I've been pushing myself, and I can really see some improvement. My max bench increased from 235lbs 285lbs, my power clean from 165lbs 255lbs, and my squat from 385lbs 450lbs. Total weight went from 805lbs 990lbs. I'm ten-TEN-fucking pounds from the thousand pound club; holy shit! Can somebody say…challenge accepted?**_

_**Hell, even academically I'm excelling. According to two of my pre-course exams, I can pass Biology Honors, and English II honors before taking the actual course completely.**_

_**Biology 85% 9/11/12 (I like Biology, sue me.)**_

_**English 91% 9/14/12 (I'm fairly sure Florida standards are pretty low compared to others…)**_

_**Just for the sake of saying it, the student average for each test was less than thirty percent. According to my guidance officer and Principal, whom I had a VERY long talk with and my parents being present; my 3.285 GPA does not match up with my 99**__**th**__** percentile testing scores. "Yeah? Well tough shit, Mista! I'm a lazy mofo; fuck with it!"**_

_**Meh, I've had enough talking about my growing in complication, tiring, and plain out crazy month. Here's what you guys came to see…**_

* * *

Takashi didn't have any time to comprehend what was happening around him; everything was simply going by too fast. His plan was this; grab the girl and get out, nothing more-nothing less. The first part went well enough, getting to Alice-the young girl-was easy, a crude power-slide through a gate accomplished that. However, within moments, the undead flooded through the gates like a plague, their dull moans giving Alice more than enough reason to cry to heart's content. Alice's wails and the flesh eating monsters' voracious demands proved to shatter his clear state of mind. With a grim expression, Takashi closed his eyes and charged, hoping for the best.

It would seem luck was with the boy as it graced him with the appearance of a psychopathic Naruto. The deranged teen blasted, kicked, and pushed his way through the crowd of undead with his all too familiar twisted grin. He ravaged everything in his path with vigor, as if everything was a violent videogame. Normally, Takashi would've have been less than thrilled to see the Namikaze in that state of mind; but then again, that was _normally_. If letting Naruto kill what he wanted meant that he could save Alice-then by God, let the guy kill!

(PoV change: Naruto)

Naruto savagely unloaded a couple shells on the approaching wave of flesh-eaters, his crazed laughter overshadowing the bang of his shotgun. He observed Takashi out of the corner of his eye; the boy was just now starting to get his act together and moving Alice onto the fence. _Gleefully_, Naruto concluded that the moment of hesitation Takashi had before escaping would cost them some time. Loading some shells, the bloodthirsty American cackled in his native tongue _"Who needs time, kehe!"_

For what seemed like hours, time slowed to a crawl, every pellet, shell, and body part that flew away from the barrel of the gun inched through the air at speeds similar to that of a turtle's pace. With the low roar of a very large engine, time returned to its normal hellish rapidity. The return of speed came with a little bit of Naruto's awareness. With the amount and rate of undead approaching and the limited amount of shells he had to fire before reloading, one could say he was _certainly _fucked. That tidbit of insight seemed to trigger Naruto's full capability of reason, seeing as he had enough rationality to drawl _"…Shit."_

Naruto vaguely heard the Humvee becoming frighteningly closer and decided to take out as many as he could so he would be able to flee. One shot. To his horror, that was all that had remained before he heard an empty click. Grey skin flooded his vision, they were only a few feet away now; there was no way he had time to reload. Dropping the shotgun to his feet, he brandished his knife and started hacking away at anything in front of him. He could feel their hot breath reaching his face-_he stabbed_. Their disgustingly soft fleshly hands gripping his forearm-_he kicked_. He felt his knife being ripped away from his hand-_he clawed_. He felt the gang of bodies pounce on his form, their teeth beginning to penetrate his skin-

_He screamed._

For all it was worth, Naruto didn't give up, not even as he felt a rough pair of lips brush against the nape of his neck. He threw them all off with a roar; his sole goal was remaining untainted. He rolled backwards avoiding a leaping bite, and started scaling the heavily stoned fence. They pleadingly scratched at his feet, but he only replied in the form of an uninterested stomp. The Humvee was close-_really close_-and Takashi was already mid jump towards it. Once again, time slowed to a crawl; could he make it? His heartbeat began to make itself known in his eardrums. With desperation, Naruto lunged towards the vehicle.

_He cleared half the distance in a single step. _Takashi's body cradled the small form of Alice in his chest, preparing for a hard landing.

*Lub-dub*

_With an overextending stride, he reached the end of the fence. _Saeko caught the pair and dragged them into the top of the Humvee.

*lub-dub!*

_Crouching for a split second, he leapt. _The Humvee quickly began to race up the road, its speed becoming greater with each roll of the tire.

*Badump*

_His arms extended fully, just hands just began brush the metal. _Suddenly, the Humvee pulled away in a short burst of acceleration.

*_Badump!_*

_He fell, his hands incapable to catch anything. _Everything began to dim; the road started becoming noticeably closer.

"_**!**_"

A force tightened around his left wrist and pulled him up causing his knees to scrape across the pavement painfully. Gawking upwards, Naruto was stunned to see Saya-_of all people_-holding him up with an absolutely strained expression on her face. She was dangling out of the back window, her legs pushed against the trunk of vehicle while she barely dragged him along. Naruto was broken from his shock as another person grabbed other hand; Kohta. He was slowly pulled up until his feet were barely touching the road, when he felt their grips slipping.

'_FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FUUUCK!' _With indescribable mask of horror plastered on his face, Naruto wriggled his hands out of their grasps and clamped onto the back of the Humvee. His fingers bled as his fingernails dug into thick metal, but it was ignored as the blonde flung himself into the back. Knocking Saya over in his battle for life, they tumbled around until he steadied himself by grabbing two fleshy pillows. Those two fleshy pillows just so happened to have been Saya's breasts, but his adrenaline dropped so hard he didn't care in the slightest. No, if anything, he hugged the mounds of womanhood while shrieking "_Holy shit_, I almost died back there!"

Saya screeched in a quivering tone "Gah, g-get o-o-off me! STOP THAT!"

Naruto buried his face into her scantily clad bosom opted not to let go. Soon after, a sense of dread filled everyone's stomachs as the atmosphere calmed. Once again, they had escaped death by the skin of their teeth and it only now began registering how close that actually was. If not for Naruto, Takashi very well could've been overrun all the while taking Alice down with him. Foremost, if not for the Humvee, Naruto _would _have died; no ifs, ands, or buts about it.

Naruto slowly released Saya's breasts from his hold and adopted a relieved expression. His lidded eyes rested upon the child that they risked their lives to save. She was a small girl, very young as well; she couldn't have been any older than eight. Matching her innocent personality, the little girl had a bright shade of pink hair and bubbly violet eyes. They did all of _that_ for a mere _child?_ Naruto brutally smashed that train of thought; he shouldn't be thinking like that…not right now.

"-to-kun, are you alright?" Saeko's voice made it to his ears, stopping the inner confliction with himself. The blonde turned to face her, his mouth opening to speak, but no words left his throat. An odd sensation it was, not being able to speak that is. Swallowing the lump in his throat, the Namikaze leaned back on his hands. What was he supposed to tell her? About the aftermath of almost dying was akin to getting kicked in the stomach? Or the sudden sense of depression that riddled his very core? How about telling her how hard it was to control the nauseous sensation building in his stomach?

Maybe it was a good thing he kept his mouth shut.

Naruto's body swayed forward like he had just gone through a loop. With lidded eyes he pondered why his lungs had started burning. Oh, that's right, he needed to breathe. His mouth wouldn't open though, rather, his attention was turned to watching the world swirling around him. The blonde could faintly hear a very dull sounding voice before he felt himself falling backwards. Since when did he get on a roller-coaster? With a heavy thud, his vision started bleeding black. Damn, he _really_ hated loops. That was his last coherent thought before his awareness escaped him.

* * *

Naruto awoke to the sound of running water. Slowly cracking an eye open he suddenly became aware of the voice of a singing child. Blinking away his surprise, he sat up with groan eliciting a loud _pop_ from his back. Around him were two rows of seats, he could see various heads of hair popping over them, while two sets of bodies dangled onto the roof. Where in the hell was he?

"_Row, row, row your boat! Gently down the stream! Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream!"_

What. The. Hell?

"_Shoot, shoot, shoot the gun! Kill them all now! Bang! Bang! BANG! BANG-"_

Naruto tiredly leaned on the tailgate and groaned "Kohta-kun, there's no singing allowed during a Zombie Apocalypse!"

Kohta suddenly popped down from the roof of the Humvee and chimed "Ah, Namikaze-sempai! You're awake; you've been asleep for the whole day!"

Naruto sat back up. He was out for the whole day? The blonde suddenly searched the ground for some reason. Where was his shotgun? Hell, where was his knife?! Removing his gaze from the floor, the young Namikaze was suddenly facing two large violet eyes. He paused.

Well, he was in a _good_ mood…

Naruto put on a charming smile and greeted softly "Hello."

Alice beamed brightly at him and chimed "Hi, I'm Alice!"

Naruto gently patted the pink haired girl on the head and introduced himself "That's a pretty name, Alice-chan. I'm Naruto."

The girl suddenly adopted a sour expression on her face. Naruto's smile faltered; did he do something wrong? Alice's frown shattered into a grin as she tugged on golden locks squealing "Your hair is so pretty!"

'…_The fuck?' _Naruto's confusion was ignored by Alice as she opted to start styling his hair in the craziest of ways. After four attempts to tame his spiky hair into a different fashion, Alice turned her attention towards the front as the Humvee started climbing uphill. Naruto placed his hands on the girl's shoulders to keep her steady as the vehicle jumped over something before slowing to a stop. The pink haired child squirmed out of his grasp to see what was happening.

When the Humvee came to a complete stop, Naruto heard something hard rolling across the floor. He looked down to see a round-baseball sized-green object rolling by his feet. He picked it up to inspect in thoroughly; his eyes widened.

It was GRENADE of all things!

Despite his initial surprise, he swiftly pocketed the deadly explosive. He couldn't trust anybody with that kind of weapon. Kohta would immediately throw the damn thing just to see it go _boom_. Takashi-god bless-would probably try to use it accordingly, but he was too easily swayed by his emotions. Saeko was a close ranged fighter, so she had no use for it. Takagi was a _hell no _right from the get-go. Shizuka…was something he didn't want to think about. So, for the safety of the group, Naruto made sure nobody caught sight of the weapon.

Naruto began to exit the Humvee, until he caught sight of Takashi. The raven haired boy was currently being used as a pillow by Rei and Saeko, that later was a little more…_compromising_. Normally, Naruto would've found that situation rather funny, but not today. In reality, he felt jealousy swell in his gut, some betrayal crawl up his throat, and anger pang around in his head.

_His good mood was officially curb-stomped._

With lidded eyes and a grimace, the Namikaze roughly jerked Takashi awake and muttered "Wake up, Komuro."

Not even waiting for a response, Naruto pulled himself out of the Humvee through the gunner's hole and jumped off the vehicle. Popping out a few kinks, the blonde examined the riverbank for any undead; he really could go for killing something right about now. He suddenly felt something sharp clamp down on his ankle, easily ripping through the fabric and skin. With wide eyes he glared down to his feet to see a small dog wagging its tail and playfully biting at his feet. Gasping for air, the blonde patted the dog on the head and wheezed "Jesus…you scared the shit right out of me, pup."

The dog yipped happily and scurried back towards the Humvee, but Naruto gave it no more thought seeing as something else caught his attention. Shizuka, Rei, Saeko and Takagi had changed their skimpy outfits into something slightly more appropriate. Key word: slightly. They all basically modified their school uniforms to reveal another body part; like Saeko her legs and Takagi her breasts. While not the most inappropriate thing he had ever seen, Naruto wasn't going to lie about his obvious joy of seeing it.

Takashi, brandishing a new shotgun, called out "Hey, Naruto-san! What are you going to use to defend yourself?"

Naruto's lidded gaze fell upon Kohta as he questioned "About that…where's the other shotgun, Kohta-kun?" Without missing a beat, the overweight teen threw Naruto the remaining shotgun, causing the blonde to yelp in surprise "Wait-gah!"

The weapon bounced around in the Namikaze's arms before he got a steady hold on it. Pointing an exasperated finger at the teen, Naruto growled "You do-NOT throw guns like that, no, you DON'T THROW GUNS, PERIOD!"

Kohta opted to ignore the blonde's discomfort and nodded in the direction of Takashi. Both teens charged up the grassy knoll guns ready. They reached the street on top and took a side to check. With a quick examination, they both yelled in unison "CLEAR!"

Growling in frustration, Naruto stomped up the knoll quickly and waited for the Humvee to clear the slope. He didn't have to wait long as the Humvee rushed up the grass and took to the air; completely clearing Kohta's ducking form. Seeing the stunt made him feel a little happier, but yet again, that happiness was crushed by Takashi. It wasn't as if he anything, however, just seeing the kid seemed to dampen his mood. The blonde shook his head and walked towards the Humvee, but not before muttering "_Fagsayswhat?_"

Takashi seemed to hear him, seeing as he questioned in confusion "What?"

Jumping into the Humvee, the blonde grew a lopsided smile.

_Okay, maybe he was in a good mood._

* * *

Saeko made herself comfortable as the Humvee raced down the road. She idly noticed Shizuka and Takagi were making small talk, but nothing of real importance. Kohta was bonding with Alice, even though a little bit loud, it was a cute sight to see. Pondering Alice for a moment, her gaze traveled to the seat beside her where Takashi and Rei were sitting. The clinginess Rei seemed to have developed last night hadn't left, seeing as she was still resting on his right shoulder. She inwardly bit back a grimace; was that girl attempting to anger her? Calming her thoughts, Saeko refocused on Takashi; a small smile grew on her face. In the past few days, the young Komuro really had worked a way into her heart with his bravery. Despite being not the most physically talented, Takashi had a good mind on his shoulders. Saeko's smile slowly fell off her lips as she recalled the events of last night.

Despite his good intentions, Takashi nearly got himself killed last night by not thinking it through. If it wasn't for Naruto, the boy probably would've been killed with Alice. Naruto…she trained her gaze on the lone member of the group sitting in the very back. He was sitting silently, staring out the window with lidded, glossy eyes and running a hand over his shotgun unconsciously. Her gaze softened; Naruto was an enigma to her. She knew she used to have had some feelings for him, but his constant change turned her away from attempting anything. Before he had become so distant, she could remember that he was her best friend…maybe something m-

Naruto suddenly lunged forward, grabbing the edge of his seat, and screamed "STOP!"

The Humvee abruptly spun out and slammed into something causing everyone to fly forward from their seats. Saeko began to sling forward until two strong arms jerked her back into a warm, ridged chest. Saeko lost her breath for as the Humvee tipped slightly before plopping down to a stop. Everything went mute for her all except the constant beating of the heart of whoever was holding her. It was so comforting, Saeko thought she could just fall asleep right there. But, who was it? Takashi…no, he was holding Rei…Kohta doesn't have a ridged chest…that left…

"N-Naruto!" Saeko's choked squeak bounced around the vehicle as she regained her bearings. Her breathing hitched again when she felt Naruto's own warm-_hot_-breath blow against her ears. Saeko's awareness soon dimmed as her heartbeat boomed in her eardrums; she could faintly recognize Naruto's voice, but it was far too quiet for her to hear. The young woman was snatched from her stupor when she was lightly shaken by the man holding her. His voice became louder "Are you alright? Saeko? Saeko!"

The young Busujima suddenly jerked forward out of Naruto's grasp and exclaimed a bit aggressively "I'm…I'm fine!" She received a questioning expression in return, but firmly replied in the form of a glare. Naruto stared at her for a moment longer before relenting; he stood up and exited the Humvee to access the damage. Seeing he was out of earshot, Saeko released a breath she didn't know she was holding and muttered "What came over me?"

* * *

Standing tall in the street, Naruto grimaced; of all things, they were stuck. Upon spinning out, the Humvee somehow positioned itself in-between multiple razor-sharp wires, which separated-_blocked off-_some parts of the city. That wasn't to mention the damage done to both the engine and exterior of the vehicle. The hood was smoking, never a good sign, and three rows of wire were about an inch deep into the quarter inch of steel armoring the Humvee. The young Namikaze managed to summarize their current situation with only one word.

"_Shit."_

The blonde noticed Takashi had got out of the Humvee, and by default, Takagi, Rei, and Saeko followed in tow. Smacking a hand over his face, Naruto grumbled "I swear, I find myself getting progressively more infuriated with that kid…"

To Naruto's ire, Takashi questioned him with innocent curiosity "What kid, Naruto-san?"

Adopting a rather stoic expression, Naruto came upon the realization that with all the noise they made during the crash _they_ would soon be attracted. Running his fingers through his hair, the teen contemplated the next best course of action. They could attempt to get the Humvee mobile again, but that would leave them as sitting ducks for the undead. Or they abandon the Humvee and proceed through the wire on foot. However, that would leave them with no source of transportation or shelter…

Hundreds of voracious moans echoed in the wind and a steady rumble of marches shook the ground.

**Option number-two it was.**

Turning his attention back to the group, Naruto began in an apathetic drawl "Alright, let's salvage what we can from the Humvee, and go through the wires…"

*BANG!*

Kohta began firing off rounds on top of the Humvee, while Takashi and Saeko rushed forward with shotgun and bokken respectively. Another burst of gunfire was created by Rei who started unleashing an inaccurate spray on the undead with her own weapon. Shizuka and Alice, who was holding the small dog, began cheering them on, while Takagi stood to the side silently. Naruto could only stare in disbelief as his group chose 'fight' in an obviously 'run away, you fucking retard!' situation. Gathering himself, the blonde roared "What are you doing?! GET THROUGH THE WIRES-_NOW_!"

Naruto's command was blatantly ignored as the small group of ragtag survivors continued fighting. Realization hit the Namikaze like a ton of bricks. They didn't see him as the leader, no; they saw _him_ as their leader. Anger swelled in his gut; were they fucking serious?! They were going to get themselves killed, and all because of their ignorance! He promised himself he wouldn't let anyone else die, and they were trying to make him go back on his word. Namikaze Naruto NEVER goes back on his word. Naruto's vision slowly bled into red.

Jumping up onto the Humvee, Naruto violently gripped Kohta's shoulder and growled "Start going through the wire; help Alice, Takagi, and Shizuka if needed." Kohta looked as if he was about to protest, but Naruto cut him off venomously "I SAID MOVE, HIRANO! GET YOUR FAT ASS UP AND OVER THAT FENCE, _OR SO HELP ME GOD_, I WILL BEAT THE LIVING SHIT OUT OF YOU! GOT IT?!"

A squeaky 'yes sir' was his response before Kohta moved faster than what he expected and began crossing the fence. Naruto silently glared at Shizuka and Takagi, as if daring them to speak up. Both young women hastily began helping Alice get through the wires. The blonde haired male set his furious gaze onto the remaining three teens and stomped heavily towards them. Plucking the gun right out of hands of Rei with the gentleness of a tank, Naruto poked his hand towards the wired barricade. The girl didn't hesitate in the slightest when she caught sight of his eyes; she quickly scurried back towards the wire. Brandishing the firearm over his shoulder, the blonde hollered darkly "Komuro, Busujima! Get moving now, there's too many for you to handle!"

_-Ignored-_

Naruto's anger skyrocketed; this was ridiculous! Sliding Rei's gun across the ground towards the wire, he lurched forward and grabbed Takashi by the shoulders. Takashi's gun fell from his hands as he was violently hurled fifteen feet backwards and collided with the Humvee, brutally knocking the teen out and possibly giving him a nasty concussion. Saeko swiftly hopped back parallel to Naruto and exclaimed "Naruto-"

The blonde cut her off with a hard smack to the cheek. Everything stilled, nobody dared to breathe, even the flesh-eaters paused a moment to register the new sound. Saeko's face was completely twisted to the side as Naruto's hand slid off it, leaving a large stark red mark. Before any reaction could be made on Saeko's part, Naruto forced Takashi's gun into her hand and shoved her towards the wire. The young Namikaze shuffled backwards as he reached into his pocket, a morbid expression growing on his face. He pulled a small green object from his pocket; tugging on it, he threw it into the air and backpedaled at a quick pace. A high pitched pin drop was heard before a deafening explosion spread across the street like a ripple in a pond.

Needless to say, body parts were thrown around like confetti.

_**...End of chapter 5…**_

* * *

_**Yeah, I assume this is kind of a disappointment…I wasn't really feeling it in this chapter. However, I had to get over this bump or I would procrastinate even more about updating. So, with that said…I'm going to sleep...without editing this. Oh, and just as a side note, you can start to notice the changes from canon-hopefully-such as Rei and Takashi not being on top of the Humvee when they crashed. Hmm, I can only wonder why. ¿-_-? **_

_**Oh well…**_

_**Maelstrom-claymore, out.**_


	6. To live or to survive

_**I'm back – Yay!**_

_**I don't particularly have an excuse for not updating…I just haven't felt like writing. That's probably not the best attitude for this…is it? **_

_**Meh…**_

_**Let's just skip the pleasantries before I lose my drive to actually type.**_

* * *

Smoke billowed swiftly across the shuddering pavement of the road, spreading like a rolling wave of murky water. Chunks of gore, metal, and concrete were flung about wildly, raining in all directions as if the force of the explosion carried them in an invisible tide. The screech of destruction rang through the air deafeningly, seemingly lasting for an eternity. Then, as fast as the explosion had occurred, it was deathly silent.

Moments into the dull silence the smoke began to pan out, losing the shrouding haze it once had, revealing sight to a repulsive scene. Ashen gray bodies littered the area, all mutilated in some form or another. Scores of limbs coated in blood were eerily spread across the street, blasted apart into unidentifiable chunks of rotten flesh. The few that remained slightly more intact were disturbingly skewered onto jagged pieces of scorched metal, while others simply were splattered onto a wall or another thick structure. However, there was a single body that wasn't nearly as mutilated as the others – in fact, it was moving!

A single person staggered around on a pair of broken legs, moaning voraciously as bloodied spittle left their mouth. This person wasn't any different than the other bodies that lay behind him, his skin was ashen gray and his body was coated in blood and muck. Regardless of his condition, he continued to limp on, his thinly burnt black hair swishing into his rolled back eyes with each step. For all purposes, this person appeared to be dead – _very_ dead, if such a thing mattered. The person's path soon became clear as the visages of five roughed up young women, a small dog, and two equally disgruntled young men were exposed from the lack of smoke, all of them taking shelter behind rows of sharp wires hung tightly across the opposite ends of the street.

A single piece of gravel suddenly rolled across the ground producing a small clatter with each bounce. The dead looking person abruptly stopped his advance, his mangled head snapping towards the offending rubble. The cluster of ruffed up young adults mimicked the repulsive looking person in unison, all looking towards the lone piece of gravel. As the momentum of the small object began to run out a large, dirtied bare-foot landed on top of it, cutting its small journey short. It just so happened that the large foot belonged to an equally large-if not larger-young man.

His skin dirtied from the amounts of dirt and smoke the explosion produced, the young man looked worse for wear compared to everyone else. There was a gash somewhere on his head-masked by his blonde hair-due to the blood flowing freely down his face in a rapid manner. That very same blood dripped off his chin onto a very dirty black hoodie, while some landed onto the tattered remains of what appeared to be sweatpants. Complimenting his rugged appearance, a deep frown adorned his visage – just below his dangerously narrowed crystalline eyes. Further accompanying his rough appearance was his apparent firearm of choice: a shotgun. Slinging the weapon up to his shoulder, the young man took aim, his bloodied index finger folding over the trigger tightly.

The deathly looking person groaned loudly, spittle and dead blood flying out of his mouth, and began his unbalanced dash. Not even a single step into the charge, the ashen skinned person was blown back with tremendous force, his body blown apart from the chest up as a resounding _bang_ echoed throughout the air. The now dead body tumbled to a stop nearly five yards away from its original position, cast over the remains of another dead person who was skewered onto a stop sign.

* * *

Naruto watched as the body tumbled to a stop, his dangerous expression flickering between apathetic and irate like the flame of a candle. Blood spurted from the dead flesh-eater and pooled to the ground below as it began mixing with the debris and grime of the road. Satisfied with the end result, Naruto turned his attention towards the group of people behind the wire – his fellow survivors. Just as he noticed the welt on Saeko's cheek a body collided into his. Caught off-guard, he stumbled back, his shotgun thrown from his hands. Naruto's back landed heavily on the ground, causing his air to leave his lungs, just as he noticed who tackled him.

It was Takashi:

_Fuck_

**No**

Positioning his legs under Takashi's, Naruto leaned backwards and threw the boy off him with tremendous force. He rolled to his feet as Takashi landed a few feet away from him with a pained grunt. Blood from his head began to run into his mouth, so Naruto spat on the ground before asking with an annoyed drawl "Have you ever thought of suicide, Takashi?" The boy merely glared in response, so the blonde continued his jab "I have, and I _really_ think you should kill _just_ yourself."

The raven haired youth retorted in an undertone "What do you mean 'just yourself', you prick?"

Naruto flashed a sick, beaming grin as he hissed "You haven't figured it out yet…?"

He watched as Takashi rose to his feet, his angered expression not changing to one of understanding. The Namikaze's grin widened an inch – he looked towards his fellow survivors; they didn't understand either. Naruto fell into a fit of crazed, exasperated giggles; however, he remained disturbingly coherent. "_Hehehe_! You all just don't get it, do you? Following Takashi…" His voice abruptly changed into a much saner and cold tone "…_Will only lead you to death_."

Everyone immediately questioned him.

Takagi's snide voice entered the fray "What are you talking about, _idiot_?"

Rei murmured uncertainly "Naruto…?"

Kohta seemed more concerned for answers, as he prodded with a rare tone of seriousness "What do you mean by that, Namikaze-sempai?"

Naruto stared at Takashi with a cold fire in his eyes, waiting for the boy to speak. Anger brimmed in his gut as he remained silent. Still staring at Takashi, Naruto asked in a low tone "Do you know how many dead bodies are around us, Komuro-_kun_?" -_Silence-_ "It's safe to assume there was somewhere around a few hundred. Now," Naruto trained his attention onto Kohta and asked "-how many rounds of ammunition do we have, Kohta-kun?"

Kohta blinked at the sudden question. He looked over his own weapon, inwardly calculating how many clips he had left, and thought back to how much ammo he gave to everyone else. _'My AR-10 has about fifty rounds left…Takashi shouldn't have more than a few slugs…Rei probably has around four clips…so eighty bullets…and Naruto had twenty something shells,'_ Kohta gasped deeply when he realized what the blonde was getting at. Shakily, he answered "O-One hundred…and fifty…"

Another crazed giggle left Naruto's maw as he beamed darkly at Takashi. The blonde threw his arms up wildly as he explained "_Don't you get it? Even if we made EVERY shot we took, there would still be more than half of them left!" _His grin disappeared, replaced by a deep frown as his tone bled back into sanity "Let's imply that we ended up surviving…we'd have no ammunition…no transportation and shelter…and we'd be exhausted from fighting – and then what?!" His voice rose in anger "We'd be traveling on foot with nothing to defend ourselves with; nowhere to go or to sleep, and no ambition!"

Takashi seemed just as angry as Naruto, seeing as he growled "We would find our families, damn it! That's the whole entire point of us sticking together!"

Without hesitation Naruto shot right back "No, the point of sticking together is to _survive_! We can't do that trying to fight back against everyone one of _them_ we see!"

Shizuka attempted to intervene from behind the wires with her soft voice "Boys, please…don't fight."

In the heat of the moment Takashi ignored her and snarled "You're only saying that because your family's dead!"

Everyone stiffened.

Naruto appeared to be shocked at what the boy said; his mouth was even left open in surprise. A cold shudder tingled across his spine; Takashi's words actually had actually caused some damage? Subconsciously smiling, Naruto attempted to speak before his lips slowly went slack, allowing no words to escape his mouth. However, within a moment, Naruto's visage became stoic. Simply staring at the boy, the young man stated gravely "You're right, I have come to terms with that."

Naruto turned to walk away, his eyes shadowed by the hood of his jacket. Just before he began walking, he stated grimly "But at least I've accepted my family is already dead."

Nobody said a word as Naruto crossed the wires, his stolid expression leaving no yearn for comfort. However, Rei reached out and put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him mid-step. He slowly turned around to see her offering a worried smile. Naruto's head bowed, gazing into Rei's red eyes as an odd sensation flared in his chest. Not knowing how to react or even trusting himself to do so, the blonde simply stared blankly.

For a third time, silence ensnared the area, but just like before, it only lasted briefly. Sirens filled the air accompanied by flashing blue and red lights that beamed in the distance. The road rumbled as a small fleet of fire trucks zoomed towards the group of ragtag survivors, only to screech to a halt mere meters away from them. Men and women in strange glossy suits sprung from the vehicles, holding fire hoses and weapons. In the chaos of the situation, Takagi's voice rang above the sirens.

"Mom?!"

.

..

…

**End of chapter six.**

**Yeah, really short update…I kind of just did this all in one go. So, on the lack of updating issue, I can't really say I've had the time to be writing, but I can't say I haven't either. I did have a little bit of down time within these last…three months? Fuck…either way, when I did have a little bit of time to myself I spent it sleeping.**

'**^.^**

**Charming, right? Despite this I am going to try to get back into a groove of somewhat-frequently updating, but I felt like I needed something to start it off. And…well…you have this. Off-topic, but I couldn't help but get fumbled around on the magnitude of comas. Seriously, I don't know what the hell the problem is, but there's a shit load of 'em!**

…**Humor relief was a failure I guess…well…**

Maelstrom-Claymore – out.


End file.
